The The Grand-Place in Brussels is the city’s central square and recognised as one of the most beautiful squares in the world. In 1998 it was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site.

A stone’s throw from the Grand Place is the Saint Jacques area: that's where the Manneken Pisstands! This tiny bronze statue, a mere 58cm high, symbolises the independent spirit of the people of Brussels.

The Royal Greenhouses in Laeken were built by architect Alphonse Balat under the request of King Léopold II, to keep his lush plants in it.

Art in the city centre

At the heart of the Mont des Arts district, a stone’s throw from the Place Royale, the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM) is housed in the former Old England stores, a jewel of Art Nouveau architecture. The museum offers a genuine musical world tour with around 1,200 exhibits.

Just across the street from the MIM, the Royal Museums of Fine Art of Belgium stand just a few metres the one from the other with a single interconnecting corridor running between the Museum of Ancient Art and the Museum of Modern Art. The Museum of Ancient Art houses a prestigious collection tracing the work of painters from the Low Countries from the 15th to the 17th centuries, as well as a collection of 18th and 19th century sculpture. The Museum of Modern Arts presents a rich panorama of Belgian painting and sculpture of the 19th and 20th century.

At the Hotel Althenloh, also one of the Royal Museums of Fine Art of Belgium, the Magritte Museum - Royal Museums of Fine Arts presents the most important works by the Belgian master of surrealism. With more than 200 works on display, this is the world’s largest collection of works by Réné Magritte.

On the other side of the Place Royale, BOZAR is a dynamic arts centre with more than 4,000 m² of exhibition space, a superb concert hall, a chamber music room, two small theatres, three new multimedia rooms, the BOZAR shop, the BOZAR BRASSERIE and the Royal Cinémathèque.

Art in the park

The Cinquantaire is one of the Royal Museums of Art and History, housed in a magnificent building created by Léopold II that stands in the Cinquantenaire Park. It will take you on a fascinating voyage of discovery through art and history.

It hosts national archaeology, European decorative art, classical antiquity and non-European civilizations.